The shape of large surface waves on the open sea and the Draupner New Year wave

Walker, Daniel J.; Taylor, Paul H.; Taylor, R. Eatock

doi:10.1016/j.apor.2005.02.001

Cited by 149 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…No concrete physical explanation for the giant Draupner wave has been found. One aspect of the wave which suggests very strongly that it was in some way abnormal was the low-frequency set-up under the giant wave as first observed by Walker et al (2005), whereas typically one observes a set-down under a large wave. This aspect has not been thoroughly explored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Therefore, the higher order nonlinearity is not the key factor leading to the set-up in the Draupner wave. Walker et al (2005) introduced an approach to linearizing a free surface time history so as to estimate the freely propagating, or linear, waves. These may then be used to estimate the low-frequency waves for given spreading as set out in Adcock & Taylor (2009a).…”

Section: Bound Wavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So we may be reasonably confident that green water reached this level and the wave record is reliable. Numerous others have studied the properties of this wave: see, for instance, Trulsen (2001), Walker et al (2005), Jensen (2005) and Clauss & Klein (2009). The most common explanation given for the Draupner wave is that resonant wave-wave interactions caused a nonlinear focusing of wave energy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Did the Draupner wave occur in a crossing sea?

et al. 2011

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The 'New Year Wave' was recorded at the Draupner platform in the North Sea and is a rare high-quality measurement of a 'freak' or 'rogue' wave. The wave has been the subject of much interest and numerous studies. Despite this, the event has still not been satisfactorily explained. One piece of information that was not directly measured at the platform, but which is vital to understanding the nonlinear dynamics is the wave's directional spreading. This paper investigates the directionality of the Draupner wave and concludes it might have resulted from two wave-groups crossing, whose mean wave directions were separated by about 90• or more. This result has been deduced from a set-up of the low-frequency second-order difference waves under the giant wave, which can be explained only if two wave systems are propagating at such an angle. To check whether second-order theory is satisfactory for such a highly nonlinear event, we have run numerical simulations using a fully nonlinear potential flow solver, which confirm the conclusion deduced from the second-order theory. This is backed up by a hindcast from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts that shows swell waves propagating at approximately 80• to the wind sea. Other evidence that supports our conclusion are the measured forces on the structure, the magnitude of the second-order sum waves and some other instances of freak waves occurring in crossing sea states.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Bound Wavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Did the Draupner wave occur in a crossing sea?

et al. 2011

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“…We compare detailed measurements conducted at the fully directional FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility at the University of Edinburgh with existing multiple-component second-order wave theory (Sharma & Dean 1981;Dalzell 1999;Forristall 2000) and derive new results using a multiple-scale approach which lend greater insight into the problem. We believe that ours is the first experimental observation of set-up for highly directionally spread and crossing groups, following field observations of a set-up underneath the famous Draupner rogue wave (Walker et al 2004) and on Lake George, Australia (Toffoli et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We will briefly review the derivation of (1.1) in § 2. However, when examining the very large freak wave that occurred at the Draupner Platform in the North Sea on 1 January 1995, Walker, Taylor & Eatock Taylor (2004) observed a large set-up in the wave-averaged surface elevation. Subsequent analysis of the Draupner wave by Adcock & Taylor (2009) and Adcock et al (2011) identified crossing waves as the probable cause of the set-up associated with the Draupner wave.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The set-down and set-up of directionally spread and crossing surface gravity wave groups

et al. 2017

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For sufficiently directionally spread surface gravity wave groups, the set-down of the wave-averaged free surface, first described by Longuet-Higgins and Stewart (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 13, 1962, pp. 481-504), can turn into a set-up. Using a multiple-scale expansion for two crossing wave groups, we examine the structure and magnitude of this wave-averaged set-up, which is part of a crossing wave pattern that behaves as a modulated partial standing wave: in space, it consists of a rapidly varying standing-wave pattern slowly modulated by the product of the envelopes of the two groups; in time, it grows and decays on the slow time scale associated with the translation of the groups. Whether this crossing wave pattern actually enhances the surface elevation at the point of focus depends on the phases of the linear wave groups, unlike the set-down, which is always negative and inherits the spatial structure of the underlying envelope(s). We present detailed laboratory measurements of the wave-averaged free surface, examining both single wave groups, varying the degree of spreading from small to very large, and the interaction between two wave groups, varying both the degree of spreading and the crossing angle between the groups. In both cases, we find good agreement between the experiments, our simple expressions for the set-down and set-up, and existing second-order theory based on the component-by-component interaction of individual waves with different frequencies and directions. We predict and observe a set-up for wave groups with a Gaussian angular amplitude distribution with standard deviations of above 30-40• (21-28 • for energy spectra), which is relatively large for realistic sea states, and for crossing sea states with angles of separation of 50-70• and above, which are known to occur in the ocean.

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The Draupner wave: A fresh look and the emerging view

et al. 2016

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Using the new high‐resolution operational model of ECMWF, we revisit the storm during which the Draupner freak wave of 1 January 1995 was recorded. The modeling system gives a realistic evolution of the storm highlighting the crucial role played by the southward propagating polar low in creating the extreme wave conditions present at the time the freak wave was recorded. We also discuss the predictability of the meteorological event. The hindcast wave spectra allow a new analysis of the probability of occurrence of the Draupner wave that we analyze not only in time at a specific position, but also in space. This leads us to discuss how exceptional the so‐called freak waves really are. For a given sea state, as characterized by the significant wave height, they are namely part of the reality of the ocean, the key point being the probability of encountering them. In this respect, the often considered record at a specific location can be misleading because the probability of detecting a freak wave must be considered both in space and time.

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The shape of large surface waves on the open sea and the Draupner New Year wave

Cited by 149 publications

References 8 publications

Did the Draupner wave occur in a crossing sea?

Did the Draupner wave occur in a crossing sea?

The set-down and set-up of directionally spread and crossing surface gravity wave groups

The Draupner wave: A fresh look and the emerging view

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